Wednesday, December 19, 2012

2012 in Review: Theo Macdonald

Theo Macdonald

What have been your cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?
 
Participating in the Comics Generation exhibition was cool. I've never had my work exhibited, so that was an interesting experience, working out what was worthy of the wall. Luckily the curator, Claire Harris, was very good at identifying that some work was simply better than other stuff. Traveling to Auckland Armageddon to sell my first graphic novel Edward Fisher: Duck, You Flogger was a big deal. This had taken 28 months to complete, so finally releasing it was satisfying, to say the least. It looked fantastic, mainly due to the involvement of Richard Fairgray, who dealt with all the publishing details. 

Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?
 
The main local work I've enjoyed has been that of the Comics Generation artists: Esther and Sadie Galloway, Zora Patrick, Michael Sanders, and Joel Spencer. There's a common sense of vitality to their work, it had to be created, which I like. 

In terms of general comic reading, I've been woefully unadventurous, mainly just enjoying various continuing series, particularly Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, which uses Rodriguez' skills from his previous career in architecture to develop a comprehensive universe. One new discovery has been the ongoing webcomic Multiplex, by Gordon McAlpin, which began as a basic movie parody strip, but soon turned into a full fledged dramedy, kind of reminiscent of Freaks and Geeks. The art is vector, which I normally don't find that attractive, but the understated colour palette and sense of consistency afforded by computer generated work really draws me in. 

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?
 
This year I've been attempting to watch Woody Allen's entire directing filmography, a difficult task due to the unavailability of many of his works on DVD, but I'm close, three films left before his latest comes out here. I've also gotten into Jim Jarmusch, Orson Welles, and David Lynch, the last of whom's work I've enjoyed in several mediums, particularly his fine art, which is wonderfully textured and offers great insight into his directorial process. 

My favourite new releases this year have been Young Adult and We Need to Talk about Kevin, both fantastic character driven pieces, albeit in two completely different genres, comedy and horror. Moonrise Kingdom was perfect, in my mind Wes Anderson is still to put a foot wrong. 

I finally got around to reading a lot of the stuff on my bedside table: Howl and other poems, The Trial, The High Window, The Thin Man. There's still a lot to go. 

Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?
 
It's more just been general development. I began rewriting every page of Edward Fisher as I got to it. The panel layouts are denser and more fluid. Does not sleeping count as a working method? Also I started watching Gilmore Girls when drawing, I assume I'll just stop creating when I reach the end of season 7. 

Not comics, but this year I started using oil paints, which has drastically improved my style. 

What are you looking forward to in 2013?
 
A couple of days ago I decided I'm going to create a sequel to my comic from two years ago, Theocracy. I've got 19 strips ideas written down, and am hoping to publish it online along with the content of the first volume. I've written some short films, a couple of which I plan on making early 2013, and I want to keep developing my painting skills. One project that should be very interesting is getting a new pair of glasses. At this stage there will probably be two lenses, but who knows what will change in editing? 

Also I'll be beginning university in Auckland, which should generate enough angsty angst fun to keep me writing for a long time.
 

No comments:

Post a Comment